This is about the first half of the book, up to book page 740. It does not include the index. I recommend using the full book which can be found at:

https://archive.org/details/commemorativehis00lees

These commemorative histories, commonly done in the late 1800s, have a wealth of knowledge, which has to be taken with a grain or two of salt. It's my understanding that the biographical sketches were written by the people themselves, so some tend a bit towards extra flattery. If you're into genealogy or family history, they are a terrific starting point for various families, especially before 1850, when the U. S. Federal Census records are not quite as helpful. Since they were written closer to the time, some of their historical value is highly prized.

The fun here at this web site is that there are 5 different volumes / versions to choose from.

The only complete, full volume, from title page to index, and which I heartily recommend you use, at least to start with, can be found at:

https://archive.org/details/commemorativehis00lees

There is an excellent Table of Contents. The first 433 pages cover the general history and geography of the county, and then more specific histories of the 20 townships and the city of Bowling Green, including 4 maps. The sections on the individual townships give local history, listing early settlers, who founded churches and schools, businesses, brief histories of the township villages, tales that have been handed down. In 1897, the Civil War had not receded in the minds of people and many Civil War Veterans were still living and having reunions. Many lists of regiment members are included here, making it great for Civil War research. The War of 1812 is also covered.

It states that the biographical sketches run from pages 434 to 1368, and the index from 1369 - 1386. The index is only for the chief person of the biographical sketch. Any children or family named within the sketch are not in the book's index. The Wood County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society has a CD with an every-name index for sale,
( http://www.wcogs.org/docs/Publications.pdf )
under “CDs for Sale”, that can be very helpful in finding these other people.

Be aware of page numbers. The book uses lower case Roman numerals at the beginning, [ i – xvi ]. While book pages with no text do not show a number, they are numbered. Regular Arabic numbers start after the Introduction, with the “HISTORICAL” section, and in the book that first page is unnumbered. The following page has number 2, and the web site also shows it as “Page 2 of 1386”. However, flip the page and suddenly the computer shows “Page 24 of 1786”, while the book shows pages 4 and 5. The web site uses Arabic numbers for the book starting with the first page. If you actually look someone up in the index, you will need to pay attention to the book’s actual page number and play around with the page slide on the web site. If you search for someone or something on the web site, the web site will indicate the page numbers and guide you to them. To make sure you can easily find your information again, or if you’re sending it to someone or posting it as a source somewhere, you might want to note the numbers of both the web page and the actual book page.

The biographical section has the people in no particular order that I’ve ever figured out. The first man listed is Capt. Luther Black. Since there are over 20 people with a surname that starts with ‘A’, it definitely isn’t alphabetical.

I've loved reading about my family in this book, but not all my Wood County ancestors are in it. Not everyone living in Wood County in the mid 1890s is in this book. Some were still living here in 1897, but for whatever reason, they are not represented. For those that are, it's great reading. Text is shown on both the right and left pages. The search index on this web page, to find things in the book, works well, if you’re not familiar with the book. Full-page facial portrait sketches are also shown for some people. This shows the book as it actually is, just like the one I have.


I originally reviewed a volume found at:

https://archive.org/details/oh-wood-1897-beers


The biggest problem with this Wood County history is that it is incomplete, although it is a bit longer than the Part 1 below. This covers the actual book pages up to page 953. It has the Table of Contents, the general history and geography of the county, and then the histories of the 20 townships and the city of Bowling Green, including 4 maps. The sections on the individual townships give local history, listing early settlers, who founded churches and schools, businesses, brief histories of the township villages, tales that have been handed down.



Then there are the 3 remaining volumes, and those 3 parts together comprise the full, complete book. The book has been cut apart, and divided into rough thirds. Each page has been carefully cut out and the entire book shows the pages on the right hand side only. Looks a bit unusual, but the book is complete. What is extra weird is that rarely is a biographical sketch complete at the end of a page, so—the first 2 volumes stop right in the first or middle part of a person’s sketch and continues it in the next volume! Definitely a bit unorthodox and not sure why it was needed for the digitization. Now if you were handling the book itself, it would be easier to handle since as published in 1897, in one huge volume of almost 1400 pages, it's about 5 inches thick and the pages are a bit larger than the standard 8” and a half by 11”. Maybe the pages lay flatter and so photograph better this way.

Part 1 – the first third, including the Table of Contents, Township histories, and start of biographical sketches – book pages [i] – 491 / web pages 7 to 1058:
https://archive.org/details/commemorativehis01lees


Part 2 – the middle section - biographical sketches – book pages 492 - 893 / web pages 7 to 1012:
https://archive.org/details/commemorativehis02lees


Part 3 – the last biographical sketches and index– book pages 894 - 1368 / web pages 7 to 1138:
https://archive.org/details/commemorativehis03lees


As stated earlier, the biographical sketches are in no particular order, which makes the index extremely valuable. But with the index in only the 3rd volume of this group it’s quite awkward, especially if looking for people in the first 2 parts. Thank heaven for the search capabilities of the web site, which work beautifully.

A favorite book of mine for family history, and I still recommend you use, at least to start with, the volume found at:

https://archive.org/details/commemorativehis00lees

Enjoy!